Disappearing stairway



' June 4, 1940.

E. P. GARNER 2,203,086

DISAPPEAR ING STAIRWAY Filed July 26, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l ERNEST P GARNER Imvcntor Gnome June 4, 1940. E. P. GARNE-R 2,203,086

' DISAPPEARING STAIRWAY Filed July 26, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 2 I ---5e I (I 5.5% I 52 i ERNES Q5ARN l: L Anmntol June 4, 1940. E. P. GARNER DISAPPEARING STAIRWAY Filed July 26, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet I5 I km I enter: I

E RHEST P EARN/5E Gttomcu Patented June 4, 1940 I UNITED STATES sari-hit? QFFiCE 2,203,086 1 I p v DISAPPEARING STAIRWAY Ernest P. Garner, Charlotte, N. 0. Application July 26, 1939, Serial No. 286,658

rename. (or; 228-50) p v This invention relates to a. disappearing stair Figure 4 is-a sectional view taken along the way which provides access to the attic of a buildline 4-4 in Figure 1; ing; More specifically it relates to a locking Figure is a sectional view taken along the means which will hold the stairway in stationary line 55 in Figure l;

Heretofore, much difliculty has been 'en- 1 n 3 but showing the stairway moved to a countered due to the lack of ample locking fully retracted position, at which time it is not facilities. When these stairways are not properly Visible from the 1 e o locked in lowered position, there is a tendency F u 7 is 's l p n vi w ken l ne for the lower end thereof to slide away fromthe the line in Figure Showing t e eans 10 user when hebegins to apply his Weight. This for locking the stairway relative to the pivoted is true, regardless of whether he is ascendingor ceiling d r W e p r s re in fully retracted descending the stairway. As a result the user 11051131011;

position when it i l w red, Figure 6 is a sectional view similar to Figures 5- assumes a risk which is greater than that which "9 is sectional View taken along the he assumes when using a well-anchored stairlimes m Flgures 6 j way. Since it is usually desirable to use a stair- Rfifsrrmg more Speclfically to the drawmgs:

Way of this type, in combination with. a pivoted the numeral id denotes the floor line of a buildceiling door with anti-friction means for supt wlth Ce.11mg,H thertaabove. said ceiling porting the stairs in slidable'relation thereto and mg an Opemng m therem' Plrgtedeto one end 0 with a coil spring mechanism for normally pulling the stairway upwardly, a locking mechanism is extremely important. Under normal conditions, the strength of the'coil mechanism is'not sufficient to lift the entire weight of the stair; however, a slight variation in the coil tension and in the weight of the stair, might besufiicient, at i ggi g i' zs i gQ 12 ggm ggg gfi ggigg i z'gg suitablfe tmeans such as tension. springs l l on each e e side 0 he opening, one end being attached to floor level, or causing the lower end to slide along the doorway I5 as at and the other end being the floor. attached to the upper end of a post 20, which I It s, t e an Object of this inventien to I post is secured to the framework for supporting provide a mechanism which will automatically t cemng lock the stairway in enary position relative A board is pivoted as at 26, a short distance to its associated ceiling door upon the lowering above the pivot point 14. This boardv h 1. 3 of the parts to operative position. Also upon the shaped brackets Al secured to the .upper side raising of the parts out of operative position, the thereof and these brackets, in turn, have rollers locking means will automatically become disen- 28 rotatably secured to their proximate faces, gaged to allow the stairway to slide upwardly which rollers support the side rails 29 of ladder door is adapted to close the opening l2 when its associated stairway is in a retracted position. The door it has a cord l6 secured to its free end, which cord is engaged when it is desired to normally hold the door E5 in the closed position as shown in Figure 6, it isnecessary to provide a of the opening l2 as at i l is a door l5 and this 20 lower the door and the stairway. In order to 5 40 relative to the ceiling door. 3d. The outer sides of the side rails 29 have Some of the objects of the invention having' grooves 3! cut therein in which the upper ini been stated, other objects will appear as the deturned proximate ends of Z-shaped members '21 scription proceeds, when taken in connection with are adapted to fit; It is seen that the rollers 28 the accompanying drawings, in whichprovide anti-friction supporting means f r th 5 Figure l is a sectional view through a ceiling left-hand ends of rails 25%, whereas. the inturned of a building showing my improved stairway asupper ends of the brackets 21 furnish the guidsociated therewith and disposed inoperative poing means since these ends are disposed in the sition; v grooves 3i. Rails 29 are spaced apart from each Figure 2 is an isometric view of the stairway other by suitable treads 3d which are spaced so as mount and the means for locking the stairway to form steps upon which a person ascends or deo when in an operative position; scends the stairway. Also secured to one side Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure l, but shoW- of the stairway 36 is a hand rail 35. ing the stairway in a partially lowered position, The parts 21 and 28 which have been described at which time the locking means is out of operaprovide means for supporting the left hand end tion; v of the ladder 30. The means for supporting the right-hand end are similar and comprise a pair of Z-shaped brackets 37' which have inturned proximate end portions fitting into the slots 3| in rails 29. These brackets 37 are equipped with rollers 38 for supporting the lower sides of rails 29. In order to properly mount the brackets 31 upon the ceiling door I5, a cross bar 39 is provided together with a shim 40. These parts are secured to the upper side of the door I 5 near the free end thereof. The purpose in providing the shim 40 is to adapt the use of this ladder to warped ceilings. If the ceiling is perfectly level the shim 40- may be dispensed with. 'It is, therefore, seen that the ladder 30 is mounted upon the top of rollers.28 and 38 using the Z-shaped brackets 21 and 31 as guiding means to prevent any substantial lateral or vertical movement of the ladder relative to the ceiling door l5.

In order to facilitate the use of the stairway 30, it is necessary to provide means for normally pulling it upwardly so that the same will pass through the opening E2 in the ceiling II when it is retracted to the position shown in Figure 6. This means for lifting a portion of the weight of the ladder comprises a spring drum 45 having a tape 46 extending therefrom, the outer end of the tape being secured as at 41 to one of the treads 34 of the stairway. The drum 45 is the coil spring type and since the details are conventional, it is not deemed necessary to show the specific structure disposed therein. It is suflicient to add that upon supplementing the upward pressure exerted by thespring in the drum 45 upon the stairway 36 that the stairway may be easily raised. It is usually desirable to have the upward pressure which is exerted by the drum 45 to be slightly less than that which is necessary to raise the ladder or stairway so that a slight lift on the part of the user will be neces- :sary when retracting the,same.

Since the upper end of the ladder 39 is supported (Figures 1 and 3) slightly to the right of the pivot point 26 andsince the line of tensile force exerted by the tape 46 which emanates from the drum 45, is above this same pivot, there is a tendency to rotate the board in a clockwise manner about the pivot point 26. In order to counteract this clockwise rotation, a bar 49 has been secured to the upper side of the board 25 as at 56. This bar extends substantially parallel to the door l5 as well as to the ladder and its free end normally rests on top of the bar 39 which is secured to the upper side of the door,

l5. Due to this tendency to rotate the board 25 in a clockwise direction about pivot point 26,

the free end of the bar 49 will at all times rest on top of the bar 39 regardless of whether the ladder is in an operative or a retracted position.

Pivoted to one of the brackets 2'! as at 21a is a bar 52. This bar is L-shaped and has a plate 53 welded to its lower end, said plate having a bolt 54 adjustably secured therein. The upper side of the member 52 has an upwardly extending projection 55 which is adapted to project into the path of a rack 56 on member 29 when the ladder is in operative position as shown in Figure 1. In other words, with the ladder in lowered position the projection 55 will engage the teeth in the rack 56 and thereby prevent the ladder from moving upwardly. The lower end of the bolt 56 serves to cause the locking means to be brought into operation when it contacts the thereof.

By observing Figures 3 and 6, it is seen that the free end of the board 25 is farther away from the top of the ceiling door l5 than it is when the parts are in the position shown in Figure 1. This is due to the fact that the members 25 and I5 are pivoted at two separate points and also due to the fact that both members have been rotated through a substantial angle in the same dirction in Figure 1. Were it not for the fact that the lower end of the ladder, 3|] prohibits farther clockwise movement, the members 25 and I5 would eventually rest one against the other.

so that its free end will engage the top side' of. 6

plate member 53 and normally tend to move the plate and its associated bar 52 downwardly. The effect which this spring has upon the pivoted member 52 is clearly shown in Figures 3 and 6. In order to limit the downward movement of the ladder 36, suitable pins or projections 58 havev been provided which pins extend from the remote sides of the rails'29 and into the path ofbrackets 21.

When the ladder is in a retracted position as shown in Figure 6, it is desirable, to have a suitable means for locking the same in stationary This position relative to the ceiling door I5. locking means comprises a leaf spring 65 secured as at 5| to one of the rails 29, and an angle stop 62 secured to the rail on the opposite-side of the ladder. The stop 62 is adapted to engage a Z-shaped bracket 31 which is secured to the upper side of the door l5 to thereby limit the movement of the ladder towards the left hand side of the door. is slidably confined in therail 29 upon which the angle stop 62 is mounted and this button is so spaced from the stop 62 that upon the engage- A spring pressed button 63 ment of the stop with the angle 39, the button.

53 will be disposed upon the opposite side of the angle. This button has a spring 64 entends to press one end of the button past the outer face of the rail 29. When this is done, the

angle 39 is confined between members 62 and the projecting end of button 63. The purpose of providing the leaf spring is to normally cause the rail 29 upon which the members 62 and 63 are mounted to be pressed firmly against the confined angle member 39. If it is desired to release this locking means it is only necessary to pull the ladder towards Figure 7 or to the left in Figure 8. This movement will compress the'spring 60 and allow the projecting end of button 63 to pass beneath its associated angle bracket 39.

the observer in It is therefore seen that I have provided a sim-' ple locking device for operation in conjunction In some instances, it may be desirable to pro-' 50 circling its intermediate portion which normally vide a suitable stop to limit the clockwise rotation of the ceiling door l5 about the pivot point M. In such cases a suitable rope, not shown, may be inserted within the coil spring II with the ends of the rope secured'to the members l9 and 20. Of course the length of this rope will be such as to cause the same to be taut when the parts are in the position shown in Figure 1.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a disappearing stairway having a ceiling opening, closed by a door pivoted at one end oi the opening, a stairway slidably mounted in spaced relation to the upper surface of said door, a rack carried by the stairway, a member pivoted at one end to the end walls of the opening at a point above the pivot point between the door and the end Wall of said opening, a dog carried by said pivoted member and means operable upon downward swinging movement of the free end of the door, together with the stairway carried thereby for causing said dog to engage said rack to thereby lock the stairway against upward movement relative to the door.

2. In a disappearing stairway adapted to be attached to a horizontally disposed attic door, the attic door closing a suitable opening, means pivotally connecting one end of the door to one of the end walls of said opening, a stairway slidably mounted in spaced relation to the upper surface of said door, tension means normally moving the stairway upwardly with relation to said door when the door is swung downwardly on its pivot, means for locking the stairway against upward movement when the door is swung downwardly on its pivot and the lower end of the stairway is resting on a floor beneath the opening, said locking means comprising a rack carried by the stairway, a member pivoted at one end to the end walls of the opening at a point above the pivot point of said door, a projection on said member adapted to engage said rack when the door and stairway are in lowered position and means on the free end of said pivoted member for engaging the upper surface of the door as the door and ladder are swung downwardly for causing said dog to engage said rack to lock the stairway against upward movement with relation to said door.

3. In a disappearing stairway having a ceiling opening, closed by a door pivoted at one end of the opening, a stairway slidably mounted in spaced relation to the upper surface of said door, a rack carried by the stairway, a member pivoted at one end to the end walls of the opening at a point above the pivot point between the door and the end wall of said opening, a dog carried by said pivoted member and means operable upon downward swinging movement of the free end of the door together with the stairway carried thereby for causing said dog to engage said rack to thereby lock the stairway against upward movement relative to the door, and means for locking the stairway against downward movement relative to the door when the stairway is slid upwardly with relation to said door.

4. In a disappearing stairway adapted to beattached to a horizontally disposed attic door, the attic door closing a suitable opening, means pivotally connecting one end of the door to one of the end walls of said opening, a stairway slidably mounted in spaced relation to the upper surface of said door, tension means normally moving the stairway upwardly with relation tosaid door when the door is swung downwardly on its pivot, means for locking the stairway against upward movement when the door is swung downwardly on its pivot and the lower end of the stairway is resting on a floor beneath the opening, said locking means comprising a rack carried by the stairway, a member pivoted at one end to the end walls of the opening at a point above the pivot point of said door, a projection on said member adapted to engage said rack when the door and stairway are in lowered position, and means on the free end of said pivoted member for engaging the upper surface of the door as the door and the ladder are swung downwardly for causing said dog to engage said rack to lock the stairway against upward movement with relation to said door, and means for locking the stairway against downward movement relative to the door when the stairway is slid upwardly with relation to said door.

ERNEST P. GARNER. 

